Last week chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had put on hold decision to announce a compensation package for cotton growers citing the state election commission directives. Chavan, while stressing that he was sympathetic to the plight of the cotton growers who have suffered heavy crop losses in several pockets of Vidarbha, Marathwada expressed helplessness as the election commission had not allowed any policy announcement because of the code that was in force for the December 8 elections to 196 municipal councils in the state.

VJAS president Kishore Tiwari in a petition filed before the state election body has requested Satyanarayan to relax the model code and allow the state to extend relief to the cotton growers who were in serious state of distress because of crop losses. The VJAS has requested Chavan to pay compensation of Rs20,000 per hectare as difference in current purchase price and the actual cost of cotton cultivation.

Pointing out that over a 1000 farmers have already committed suicide in the current year in the cotton belt, Tiwari has urged the poll panel chief that reports were submitted with the government from time to time warning of the impending crisis.

Tiwari has said in the plea that cotton procurement prices have not been revised substantially in last three years though input costs, including prices of seeds, fertilizers, labour costs had increased by about 40%. Several committees including the Narendra Jadhav committee had recommended urgent relief for dry land cotton farmers of the state but the government had failed to act on the reports. "After our meeting with the CM recently, the government had formulated a compensation package, But it was put on hold because of the model code of conduct," Tiwari said in the petition.

He has made a forceful plea to the panel to relax the code as a special case so that the government could announce succour to the distressed cotton growers on the lines of those offered to sugarcane growers of western Maharashtra. A relief package would go a long way in checking the unending suicides by farmers.

Vidarbha farmers Nagpur, Nov 29 (PTI) The Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) which has been working for distressed peasants in the suicide prone Vidarbha region, has demanded free healthcare, secondary income support and interest-free crop loan for dryland farmers. "VJAS has urged Maharashtra New Chief Minister Prhitiviraj Chavan to address the long pending demands of Vidarbha farmers. The most important issue of cotton growers which needs to be attended is compensation for wet drought and crop failure due to record rain and revision in cotton minimum support prices, which has remained unchanged since 2008 even when cost of cultivation has tripled in last two years," its president Kishore Tiwari said. Irrigation facilities in these areas would not cross 20 per cent of total agriculture land. Hence there is an urgent need to make water conservation a mass movement. Approach of water conservation at village level would be the most effective solution, Tiwari told PTI. The NGO has been monitoring the farmer suicides in Vidarbha and has been on the forefront placing their demands before the government. The VJAS has demanded re-structure of loan for 2011-12, since DCC banks can not raise more than 1250 crore. An additional Rs 1500 crore needs to be provided for disbursement of crop loan. Also, de-silting of Malgujari (local private tanks) and minor storage tanks should to be undertaken by using special time bound programme to stop suicidal tendencies of farmers in the region, it said. Tiwari alleged that the Maharashtra government in December 2008 had decided to implement the recommendations of a high-power committee headed by Vice-Chancellor of Pune University, Dr Narendra Jadhav and had promised to provide food, health care and free education to children of 4.34 lakh farmers in distress from the suicide-prone districts of Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Washim and Wardha remedies on the farmers' plight, instead of providing relief to dying farmers, the then Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had in November 2007 set up a one-member panel headed by Jadhav to suggest ways to arrest farmers' suicides in the Vidarbha region when it was quite aware of the gravity of the issue of grave situation of farmers in the cotton growing belt of Vidarbha, he said. VJAS pointed out that in majority of farmer suicide cases, it has come to light that there was no food or medicine available to them which led to the extreme step. Tiwari said the Jadhav Committee has accepted the suggestions given by the VJAS and recommended that all the nationalised banks be strictly advised or directed to review the scale of finance and accordingly have extra sufficent staff for documentation for reviewing and revising the scale of finance/ credit facilities to farmers as per their eligibility.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The claim of Indian Govt. that farmers Suicide by farmers have dropped drastically in the current year due to government initiatives is misleading as country is under severe agrarian crisis due to crop failure in major state suicide prone states Maharashtra,Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka as there is severe cotton ,soybeanand paddy crop failure reported and farm suicide spiral has restartedand ground situation very grimas debt and distress are forcing innocent farmers kill themselves, ,Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed in press note today.

“We have been documenting farmers suicides reported in vidarbha since 1997 and The National Crime Records Bureau –NCRB officially published actual figures of farmers suicides and we have noted that NCRB figure is three times our recorded figure but Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha has completely contradicted NCRB own record of farmers suicides and mislead nation this is very rubbish and unfortunate’ Tiwari added..

It's official. The country has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964 even after Govt. informsIndian parliament that in India during 2010, 657 farmers had taken their lives on this count, while in 2004 the toll was as high as .Agrarian at it’s peak and NCRB exposes thatbrings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data — to 2,56,913, the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history.,

As Andhra Pradesh Govt. is also misleading when they report that 42 farmers’ suicide in 2011 in comparison to 1,181 in 2004 and 152 in 2010,in fact In Andhra Pradesh, 95 farmers committed suicides in just six districts in one month during Oct – Nov 2011, as per compilation of news reports by Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). ASHA conducted fact-finding visits to 20 families and found that all of them were due to agricultural reasons. “It is highly objectionable that the Government classifies suicides as ‘genuine’ and ‘not genuine’! In 2010, while Crime Records Bureau shows 2525 suicides of farmers, the AP Government has classified only 158 as “genuine”! When it comes to implementing the relief package meant for families of suicides victims, the Government machinery is geared towards ignoring or not supporting the families with designated ex-gratia, under political compulsions , Kiran Vissa of Association for India’s Developmentadded from Hyderabad (Kiran Vissa, AID: 09701705743)

“Farm suicide is only figure that indicates serious agrarian crisis needs long term solution as it is apparent that the existing model of agriculture cannot continue. The current high-external-input model of farming has been one of the root causes for the increasing burden on farmers, given its unviable economics with spiraling costs, unmatched by adequate returns. This model of farming has also resulted in erosion and degradation of the natural resource base on which production has to rest for all time to come! The Government has to promote sustainable agriculture that will reduce costs of cultivation for farmers and reduce risks through diversity-based, agro-ecological approaches. A programmatic thrust along with appropriate and adequate support systems is required to spread sustainable agriculture like the CMSA programme in Andhra Pradesh is required immediately. In this context, the importance of grassroots farmers’ institutions, to make farming a collective enterprise in many ways, cannot be over-emphasized”, Kavitha Kuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) informed from Bangalore .

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Cotton farmers protest against proposed bailout package

Wed Nov 23 2011 19:59:10 GMT+0530 (India Standard Time) by IANS

Nagpur, Nov 23 (IANS) Terming as peanuts the proposed bailout package for cotton farmers in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region, over 2,000 farmers blocked a state highway Wednesday as part of a seven-day-old agitation.

The Chandrapur-Yavatmal highway was blocked by protesters near Rampur village, 120 km from here.

The agitating farmers demanded Rs.6,000 per quintal as the minimum support price for raw cotton as against the market price of Rs.4,000 per quintal.

“This is the seventh day in a row that farmers are protesting at several places across Vidarbha. The demand is being supported by all the political parties, including the ruling Congress and the NCP (Nationalist Congress Party), but the state government is unmoved,” said Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, a farmers’ advocacy group.

Tiwari met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan Sunday to apprise him of the hardships faced by farmers in Vidarbha due to crop damage.

“I have suggested that a subsidy of Rs.20,000 per hectare for cotton and Rs.15,000 per hectare for soya be paid to farmers to compensate for the 40 percent loss of crop this year,” Tiwari said.

“But I am sceptical about any package. I am told the bureaucrats are asking the chief minister to announce a paltry relief. This will be too little, too late and only fuel the farmer suicide crisis in Vidarbha,” he warned.

Hundreds of Vidarbha farm widows are likely to start a hunger strike Thursday.

An all-party meeting convened by Chavan on the issue remained inconclusive. Chavan also met representatives of farmer organisations and assured them of appropriate steps.

The Congress has sought a separate financial package for the farmers while pursuing the demand for an increase in the minimum support price for cotton with the central government.

Farmers and farmer leaders have intensified the agitation on Wednesday for seeking Rs 6,000 per quintal as minimum guarantee price for raw cotton in all over Vidarbha region. The agitating farmers resorted to blocking roads and raising voice against -- to what they term as the government’s apathy to agrarian crisis.

According to reports, violence continued in Amravati on the issue for the third day after Shiv Sena activists, led by the former Lok Sabha member, Anant Gudhe, damaged the state cotton cooperative marketing federation office at Rampuri camp area and set afire all the furniture of the office in protest against the meager rate of Rs 3,300 per quintal, announced by the government.

The agitated Sena activists also set afire two vehicles of state health department and set ablaze a state run bus near Badnera this morning. The district police arrested 20 Sena workers, including Gudhe and the district chief, Balasaheb Bhagwat in this connection.

On the other hand, the Independent legislator, Ravi Rana’s indefinite hunger strike entered third day on Wednesday. Rana was detained by the police on Monday and now in central jail at Amravati. Several farmers and leaders of different organizations who turned up at the jail to meet Rana on Wednesday were denied permission to meet him by the jail authorities.

Among the activists who were denied to meet Rana at the central jail include: Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti convenor Kishore Tiwari and former Maharashtra minister Sunil Deshmukh. Rana has staged an indefinite hunger strike from behind the bars for the cause of cotton farmers.

Rana’s Yuva Swabhimani Sanghatana, Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti and several other organizations also blocked roads and damaged public property at many places in Vidarbha in protest against the jail authorities “undemocratic” attitude.

The vehicular traffic on Mumbai-Kolkata National Highway 6 was paralysed at Tiwasa in Amravati when the farmers resorted to a "rasta roko" agitation on Wednesday afternoon in support of fair price of raw cotton.

The agitators even took out a huge farmers’ rally on the highway on the issue which was addressed by Tiwari and other farmers’ leaders. The farmers vowed not to sell raw cotton until the government hikes the guarantee price.

According to reports reaching here this evening, farmers have resorted to “rasta roko” agitations in several areas in the region, including Yavatmal, Wardha, Buldhana, Akola, Washim and Saoner (Nagpur).

Meanwhile, another farmer Umesh Shyamrao Bhoyar (32) of Amla village in Wardha district ended his life by swallowing pesticide due to crop failure and not getting fair price for raw cotton. Around 16-acre land-holder Bhoyar borrowed Rs one-lakh from the District Central Cooperative Bank and could not repay it because of crop failure. A frustrated Bhoyar consumed pesticide this morning and ended his life.

With Bhoyar’s death, the farmers’ death toll has risen to 22 this month while the figure is 672 since January this year.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Vidarbha Jan Andolan samiti has strongly flayed Maharashtra move to seek Psychological help from one Goa base NGO been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust to divert economic issues behind vidarbha agrarian crisisforcingcotton farmers to commit suicide due the wrong policies promoted state ,kishor tiwari farm activist of VJAS informed today .it is reported that in a bid to extricate debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, an NGO has been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust for the ambitious project will work to bail out 3 million cotton framerswho are in deep distress analyzing the families of the victim farmers, their body language, psychological behaviour and other aspects to provide solutions reach to these farmers in a scientific manner and address their Psychological issues and render moral support in the three sector including common mental health disorder, alcohol use disorder and child and adolescent emotional problem, The NGO informedand

Panaji: In a bid to extricate debt-ridden farmers in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, an NGO has come forward to bail them out of the agrarian crisis, a senior functionary has said.

The NGO, Sangath, operating from outside of Goa, has been hand-picked by Dorabjee Tata Trust for the ambitious project aiming to mitigate instances of suicides among Vidarbha peasants.

Sangath chairman Vishram Gupte said the pre-launch meeting for the project would be held in Nagpur in Maharashtra on November 30 to discuss about the implementation of the project.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau's statistics about 30,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last one decade. Gupte said lack of irrigation facilities, infertility of land and state government's failure are the reasons for aggravating crisis in the region. The NGO with professionals on board has decided to reach to these farmers in a scientific manner and address their basic issues and render moral support.

The four-year-long project will cover four districts from Vidarbha and eight blocks, Gupte said, adding Sangath is readying to set up its camp office in Nagpur.

Sangath officials said the experts would analyse the families of the victim farmers, their body language, psychological behaviour and other aspects.

"We will develop the intervention in three sectors, including common mental health disorder, alcohol use disorder and child and adolescent emotional problem," an expert associated with the project said.

UNQUOTE

‘This is brain child of Maharashtra Govt. to divert the attention of civil society and nation from basic issues involved in to mass genocide of farmers in India as last decade quarter million farmers mostly dry land farmers cultivating high risk highly price volatile crop like cotton are killing themselvesbecause of free trade and wrong economic policies promoted by Indian Govt. as earlier too when vidarbha farmers issue Govt. called Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s Art of Living Foundation ,Bhyuji Maharaj of indore and Ammaji from south and spent thousands of crore on physiological treatment economical ill debt ridden farmersbut stopped it having got criticism from media and civil society now as once againadministration isunder severe fire as Maharashtra has reported maximum 3320 farm suicide in 2010 and daily 3 farmers killing in vidarbha they have smartly asked Dorabjee Tata Trust to do exercise which another hoax’ Tiwari added.

As the situation of cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened with the wrong policies of the state and particularly ban of cotton export time to time. The Bt cotton seeds promoted by the state have increased the economic pressure on farmers instead of resulting in higher yields of disease free crops. Already a low return and high risk livelihood, these policies that claim to reduce the risk have only increased the cost of farming. As a result, the cotton economy of the region has collapsed, resulting in mass suicide since 2001, he pointed out that when the rate of cotton lint gets a rate of $5.346 per kg in USA (around Rs 8,906 per quintal), the farmers of Vidarbha was getting a meager rate of Rs 4,000 per quintal.

VJAS that has been documenting the farmers' suicide in the region, said that most of the cotton farmers were distressed because of meagre rate of raw cotton in the market this season.

"There is a need for state government's intervention in this regard. The government should provide at least Rs 6,000 per quintal. The Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised that he would talk with the union government for better support price for the raw cotton. However, nothing has been done in this regard," Tiwari alleged.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Sugarcane lobby triumphs, cotton farmers limp

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Sunday, November 13, 2011 8:00 IST

While the Maharashtra government must be relieved that Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana leader and Kolhapur MP Raju Shetty ended his five-day fast in Baramati on Saturday, after it agreed to a sugarcane procurement price hike, many wonder why the same state ignores the plight of its cotton farmers.

In the same duration that Shetty sat on a fast 22 debt-ridden, Vidarbha cotton farmers committed suicide. One of these, Rajendra Lahiti of Dhamangaon, Amravati, breathed his last after consuming pesticide at the same time that Shetty was ending his fast with sugarcane juice on Friday.

Shetty’s fast saw a prompt response by top leaders in the state. While the MNS and Sena supported Shetty, Union agriculture minister and NCP chief Sharad Pawar sent daughter Supriya Sule to soothe ruffled feathers while CM Prithiviraj Chavan himself kept a close on eye on negotiations with protestors.

Repeated attempts to get Maharashtra agriculture minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil to comment on the “double standards” for different farmers, drew a blank. When DNA spoke to Raju Shetty he said, “We want justice for all farmers. If someone raises the issue of cotton farmers we will support them.”

“If the government agrees procurement price should cover cost of production and give a bonus to farmers then this should apply to both sugar and cotton equally,” points out TISS agronomist, Dr Ram Kumar.

A thought echoed by Kishor Tiwari, of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti. He points out how, last year the government was giving Rs 2,500 per quintal when international prices hovered at Rs 7,000 a quintal. “This year the government declared it will buy for Rs 3,300 per quintal. Farmers feel they’d prefer suicide to selling at such low prices,” says the activist.

Demanding a minimum of Rs 6,000 per quintal he asks, “Which fool will sell at Rs 3,300 when production costs are near Rs 4,500 per quintal?” Not surprising then that the cotton market yards are idle across the region.

In fact many say, the government’s July 2006, Rs. 3,750-crore Vidarbha relief package was a mockery. “Since then no bonus has been given in the procurement prices. Cumulatively since, this itself works out Rs 12,000 crores plus,” Tiwari points out and adds, “Though cotton is the largest cash crop in the state and the crisis severe, while the sugar lobby ensures its vote bank is well taken care of, cotton farmers die.” Tiwari also charges sugar barons across the political spectrum of using sugarcane prices to make money. “These barons use their sugar factories like milch cows. They get government relief when they complain they are in the red due to high procurement prices,” he says. Dr Ramkumar also agrees, “The factories are in the red due to mismanagement, corruption and political interference. This shouldn’t be linked to what farmers are paid.” In contrast, cotton farmers are caught in a bind while agro MNCs with a nod from the government are laughing their way to the bank. Authorities first encouraged farmers to opt for genetically modified Bt cotton, promising a huge yield. Despite initial resistance, aggressive campaigning by brand ambassadors like Nana Patekar saw many convert hoping to make a killing.

"With our native species, even if flowering failed due to excessive rain in the first half of the season, we would still manage at least some yield since the plants flower again. Bt cotton only flowers once and any failure means re-sowing the expensive Rs1,200-a-packet seeds," says Ambadas Rathod a farmer from Kolejhair, Yavatmal who faced the runt of the heavy rains in October. The blitzkrieg on high yield hadn't informed farmers of how high the cost of fertiliser would be or how pesticide-intensive this species is. "At Rs1,000 a kilo, I spent nearly Rs10,000 on fertiliser alone, and a further Rs12,000 per litre on 6-litre pesticide. After all that money and my hard work was washed away I was left with no option but borrowing money from the local money lender to re-sow," says Rathod.

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_sugarcane-lobby-triumphs-cotton-farmers-limp_1611695-all

When chief minister Prithviraj Chavanis celebrating his first year of holding officemore 1065 vidarbha farm widows and her family members are struggling to get food for survival, mass genocide of cotton farmers triggeredduring last year due to wrong policies of Govt. which imposed restriction cotton exporton cotton farmers then allowing seed, fertilizer and pesticide companies to increasetheir price without giving any consideration to minimum support price to Maharashtra main cash crop cotton forcing debt ridden cotton farmers to commit suicide since e assume office at rate of three farmers a day this is record number of farm suicides for CM who is so called most efficient and worked on PM vidarbha farmersrelief package as MOS in PMO but farmers despair and distress trigger due it’sindecision attitude to handle crisis ,Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed in press note today.

‘‘Massive corruption from top to bottom and very hostile and failure of administration is killing innocent cotton farmers ,we have been demanding central Govt.intervention but noby is listing us our plea” tiwari urged.ASS

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has urged UPA convener Smt. Sonia Gandhiji to chage Maharashtra worst performing Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan as he is failed to protect cotton farmers of region havinghas ignored main demands of hike in Minimum Support Price-MSPof cotton, soybean and paddyand failed to resolve the issues ofthe procurement centers along with serious issue of power cut in rural vidarbha which is more than 18 hours and due to load-shedding, 50% cotton and paddy production of the region has suffered hence it was expected ,president Kishor Tiwari informed today.

“The recent announcement of Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan yesterday that hiking theof Minimum Support Price-MSPof cotton will hit textile industry and lead to closing of mills has shocked the five million cotton farmers of Maharashtra as this is against the pending demand of congress and NCP party and It was expected that congress leaders of region will take up this serious issue of agrarian crisis with Maharashtra CM but nobody pushed the main demands and all were busy in welcominghim moreover. As Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavanhas given hostile administration to state and administrative corruption is at peaks there is no coordination of ministers with chief minister resulting complete failure of state coalition Govt. hence we are demanding his removal to save dying cotton farmers of Maharashtra” Tiwari said.

Bt cotton seeds promoted by the state have increased the economic pressure on farmers instead of resulting in higher yields of disease free crops. Already a low return and high risk livelihood, these policies that claim to reduce the risk have only increased the cost of farming. As a result, the cotton economy of the region has collapsed, resulting in mass suicide since 2001, he pointed out that when the rate of cotton lint gets a rate of $5.346 per kg in USA (around Rs 8,906 per quintal), the farmers of Vidarbha was getting a meager rate of Rs 4,000 per quintal.

VJAS that has been documenting the farmers' suicide in the region, said that most of the cotton farmers were distressed because of meagre rate of raw cotton in the market this season.

"There is a need for state government's intervention in this regard. The government should provide at least Rs 6,000 per quintal. The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised that he would talk with the union government for better support price for the raw cotton.However, nothing has been done in this regard,"Tiwari alleged.

Looking at prevailing situation internationally wheren cotton prices are likely tosoarto Rs 7,000 a quintalthis year too riding on the global scarcity on account of poor crops in the US, China and Pakistan, Indian cotton farmers can hedge these prices only ifcentral Govt. manages toraise the minimum support price to Rs 6,000 level but The government has not responded favorably disappointing cotton farmer hence we urge forurgent intervention to save dying cotton farmers, Tiwari said.

"As the reports from allover the are showing world shortage of cotton production , the Indian farmer gets advantage this time as cotton is now placed under open general license (OGL) for exports. But the OGL status should be continued. Last year, the Centre put unnecessary restrictions on exports denying farmers an opportunity to make it big. In the process they lost a market worth Rs 30,000 crore," said Tiwari. Tiwari continued, "The government did not concede our demand of providing food security to desperate, distressed and marginal farmers even. The government needs to behave sensibly and responsibly to address farmers' woes and prevent the prevailing spate of suicide in the killing fields of Vidarbha." If the cotton growers do not get better price this season, the situation will assume drastic proportions, he cautioned.

VJAS has urged Govt. of India to send team of expert to assess the Bt. Cotton crop damage in maharashtra and west vidarbha in particular where cotton farmers are killing themselves .VJAS has been demanding hike in cotton MSP Rs.6000/- per quintal and relief package to dying cotton farmers of region, Tiwari added.

“At the national level Maharashtra is main state which is cultivating Bt.cotton in around 52 lakh hector which is around 40% of Indian cotton cultivation moreover agrarian economy of Maharashtra is completely based on cotton production and prices hence we demand urgent intervention from Govt.” Tiwari added.

NAGPUR: With seven farmers in Vidarbha committing suicide in last two days, the crisis which had seen a lull in last few months has resurfaced. According to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, which spearheads cotton growers' cause in the region and also keeps a tab on suicide committed by ryots, the farm suicide toll has reached an alarming 17 in last five days and 671 in the current year.

The farmers who took the desperate route in the last three days have been identified as Maroti Mate of Palasgoan and Jivan Raghtate of Rehaki village ( both from Wardha), Kachruba Meran of Balsamudra and Mahadev Pasode of Vadati in Buldhana, Kailas Solanki of Karanjkhed and Kisan Mahurle of Sonbardi in Yavatmal and Ratan Nagtode of Udapur in Chandrapur district. The other 10 victims in last five days have been identified as Parshuram Jambhulkar, Sukkhdev Pawar, Ashok Chintelwar and Ramesh Tekam of Yavatmal district, Gajanan Sawant, Ananta Bhilange and Vithoba Munde of Buldhana, Gajanan Kavate and Deorao Nimbolkar of Akola, Dadarao Nage of Amravati.

VJAS president Kishore Tiwari informed that when he visited Kisan Mohurale's house at village Sonbardi in Yavatmal, his paralytic father and widow said the deceased farmer was under huge stress due to mounting debt, cotton crop failure and increasing medical expenses of his family. Most of Sonbardi farmers complained of heavy crop loss and that no one from the district administration had visited to asses the crop damage.

Situation of cotton growers in Western Vidarbha has worsened as the Bt cotton seeds promoted by the state have increased the economic pressure on farmers instead of resulting in higher yields of disease-free crop. Tiwari alleged. He demanded that the government should hike the minimum support price to Rs 6000 a quintal from the present Rs 3300 to save the farmers.

The farm suicide spiral in agrarian crisis hit vidarbha has been restarted with seven more suicides in last 48 hours taking toll to 17 in last five days and 671 in year 2011 , recent victims identified as

1.Maroti Mate of Palasgoan in Wardha

2.Kachruba Meran of Balsamudra in Buldhana

3.Mahadev Pasode of Vadati in Buldhana

4.Kailas Solanki of Karanjkhed in Yavatmal

5.Kisan Mahurle of Sonbardi in Yavatmal

6.Jevan Raghatate of Rehaki in Wardha

7.Ratan Nagtode of Udapur i

n Chandrapur

Kishor Tiwari, president of Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), activist group working for cotton farmer rights informed in a Press release today.

Earlier in last four day VJASdocumented 10 more farmers suicides

8.Parshuram Jabhulkar of Pandharkawada(Pisgoan) in Yavatmal

9.Gajanan Sawant of Pangara Pole in Buldhana

10.Anata Bhilange of Nivana in Buldhana

11.Vithoba Munde of Sonasi in Buldhana

12.Gajanan Kavate of Palodi in Akola

13.Devrao Nimbolkar in asola in Akola

14.Sukhadev Pawar of amadi in Yavatmal

15.Ashok Chintelwar of karegoan(bandal) in Yavatmal

16.Ramesh Tekam of M

angarda in Yavatmal

17.Dadarao Nage of Lohgoan in Amaravati

TodayVJAS leader visited house of Kisan Mohurale of village Sonbardi in Yavatmal district and consoled his paralytic father and widow who ahs informed the activist that he was under pressure due to mounting debt ,cotton crop failure and increasinghealth expenses of his family .villagers of Sonbardi complained that most of cotton field standing crop has been damagedand all cotton growers are in deep

distress but n

o one from administratio

n has till visited to asses the crop damage more over local patwari has informed that this block has bumper cotton crop this year ,Manohar kale tols during the discussion .

Situation of cotton growers in west Vidarbha has worsened with the wrong policies of the state and particularly ban of cotton exp

ort time to time. T

he Bt cotton seeds promoted by the state have increased the economic pressure on farmers instead of resulting in higher yields of disease free crops. Already a low return and high risk livelihood, these policies that claim to reduce the risk have only increased the cost of farming. As a result, the cotton economy of the region has collapsed, resulting in mass suicide since 2001, he pointed out that when the rate of cotton lint gets a rate of $5.346 per kg in USA (around Rs 8,906 per quintal), the farmers of Vidarbha was getting a meager rate of Rs 4,000 per quintal.

VJAS that has been documenting the farmers' suicide in the region, said that most of the cotton farmers were distressed because of meagre rate of raw cotton in the market this season.

"There is a need for state government's intervention in this regard. The government should provide at least Rs 6,000 per quintal. The chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had promised that he would talk with the union government for better support price for the raw cotton.However, nothing has been done in this regard,"Tiwari alleged.

The minimum support price for the cotton was announced just Rs 3,300 per quintal when the rate was over Rs 6,000 last year, he pointed out.

Tiwari continued, "The government did not concede our demand of providing food security to desperate, distressed and marginal farmers even. The government needs to behave sensibly and responsibly to address farmers' woes and prevent the prevailing spate of suicide in the killing fields of Vidarbha." If the cotton growers do not get better price this season, the situation will assume drastic proportions, he cautioned.

VJAS has urged Govt. of India to send team of expert to assess the Bt. Cotton crop damage in maharashtra and west vidarbha in particular where cotton farmers are killing themselves .VJAS has been demanding hike in cotton MSP Rs.6000/- per quintal and relief package to dying cotton farmers of region, Tiwari added.

The ink of news that rocked on official national afrm suicide data of NCRB become official which has reported that thecountry has seen over a quarter of a million farmers’ suicides between 1995 and 2010. The National Crime Records Bureau’s latest report on ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ places the number for 2010 at 15,964. That brings the cumulative 16-year total from 1995 — when the NCRB started recording farm suicide data — to 2,56,913, the worst-ever recorded wave of suicides of this kind in human history andMaharashtra posts a dismal picture with over 50,000 farmers killing themselves in the country's richest State in that period. It also remains the worst State for such deaths for a decade now.

Close to two-thirds of all farm suicides have occurred in five States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, A.P., Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Nine more debt trapped cotton farmers suicides reported in last 72 hours from the dying field of west vidarbha taking toll to 662 in year 2011, ill feted farmers are

1.Gajanan Sawant of Pangara Pole in Buldhana

2.Anata Bhilange of Nivana in Buldhana

3.Vithoba Munde of Sonasi in Buldhana

4.Gajanan Kavate of Palodi in Akola

5.Devrao Nimbolkar in asola in Akola

6.Sukhadev Pawar of amadi in Yavatmal

7.Ashok Chintelwar of karegoan(bandal) in Yavatmal

8.Ramesh Tekam of Mangarda in Yavatmal

9.Dadarao Nage of Lohgoan in Amaravati

Kishor Tiwari, president of Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), activist group working for cotton farmer rights informed in a Press release today.

A progressive young farmer ended his life by climbing on an electric pole and touching a live wire at Pangra Dole village in Lonar taluka, Buldhana district, on Wednesday. Gajanan Sawant (28), a marginal farmer who owned two acres of land, died as soon as he came in contact with the live wire. He failed to bear the loan burden and took the extreme step. Ashok Chintelwar was facing crop failure after his bt.cotton lost in last week sun outrage Where as Ramesh Tekam debt trapped tribal farmers commuiiteed suicides after police tortured him in case of motor pump theft, Tiwari said.

Maharashtra's story is alarming. It saw 20,066 farmers kill themselves between 1995 and 2002. That stands dwarfed by the 30,415 farmers who took their lives in the next eight years. The latter period saw an annual average increase of nearly 1,155 such deaths in the State. local leading daily reported today that around 15 lakh Hector Bt.cotton crop has been lost in six district of west vidarbha where in maharashtra most of Bt.cotton crop has been damaged due to delayed rain and erratic weather condition .Mahrashtra is the state where Bt.cotton has crossed 50 lakhs hector this year out of which more than 35 lakhs hector is purely dry land area where rainy water is only source.

Initially Maharashtra Govt. expected yield of cotton was around 450 lakhs quintal that has been revised to 300 lakhs quintal but prevailing crop condition and severe damage to Bt. Cotton crop in region average yield likely to be dropped by 50% .on the expenses front cultivation cost has jumped to Rs.20,000/- per acre from Rs.12,000/-where average yield has come down 2 quintal per acre from 4 quintal per acrehence accumalted losees are likely to cross more than Rs.5000 crore in vidarbha alone and this is trigger of this restart of farm suicide spiral ,Tiwari addded.

VJAS has urged Govt. of India to send team of expert to assess the Bt. Cotton crop damage in maharashtra and west vidarbha in particular where cotton afrmers are killing themselves .VJAS has been demanding hike in cotton MSPRs.6000/- per quintal and relief package to dying cotton farmers of region , Tiwari added.